Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1887-03-25
BRITISH PARLIAMENT.
Rebate I'm Com ons ON the Coercion
BiiI-GIadsfone's Speech.

BiiI-Giadsfone's Speech.
tBy Anglo American cable to the Dispaschl
LONDON, March A.-In the House
of Commons this evening the debate on
the motion for urgency for the CO.
ercion bill was resumed by Mr.. Glad
stone. He referred to the unprece-
dented position of the House, which
had already sat two months, during
which, he said, its independent initia-
tive had been suppressed. Even now
the Conservatives exulted over the pros
pect of passing a motion forcing
the House TO the absolute sur
render of its whole time until
bill of an extremely severe
character had been carried. The
House was threatened with frequent
application of closure of debates when
protracted. No greater calamity could
befall the House than this sort of pres
sure. 1t would sap the authority of the
chair and bring the procedure rules
into disrepute. He had seen more par
liamentary life than any other man in
the House, but he never knew of 80
grave a state of affairs. 1t was due to
an extreme abuse of power by the ma
jority, which, ifpersisted in, wouldleave
behind sense of intolerable wrong.
The yoke thus put on the neck of the
House would not be borne patiently.
The position of affairs now was very
different from that when the COERCION
bill of 1881 was passed. There were
no papers before the House now, nor
was there any indication OF the
nature of the proposed Govern
ment measure. Heretofore, in ask
ing special legislation for deal
ing with crime in ireland, the
ministers had tried 1. to show that
the terrible prevalence OF crime
threatened the social order. Was that
the case now? No! The House had
been told that the number of agrarian
offences prior to the passage OF Fosters
COERCION act exceeded the highest num-
bersince. The crime then, however, was
of different character from which the
Government now sought to check. The
present crime consisted in combining
to obtain reduction of rent. Irish
cheers. Even the evidence which the
Government put before the House
showed that the crime was restricted to
the demands for Just attachments of rent.
Never had any former coercion act been
resisted by majority of the members
from Ireland. [Cheers.] Now there
was protest against coercion from an
overwhelming majority Of the Irish
members. [Cheers. Had the Gov
eminent any just claim for demanding
coercion or urgency for the new
repressive measure? After appoint.
ing commission to examine
on the spot the rent question
and TIE evils arising from the land laws
the Government now put aside the re-
concentrations of the commission and
asked Parliament for increased power
to make laws still more offensive to the
general sense of the people. Irish
cheers. General Buffers evidence
proved that tenants not paying rent were
anxious to pay. There was no general
movement against the payment Of rent,
but only a combined effort to obtain
fair rents. The Irish people were apt
to follow the example constantly set by
others and see what they could make
out of the exclusive dealing. [Cheers. ]
The Government said that the contracts
should not be broken yet Balfour,
while preaching the doctrine OF sane
tity of contracts, was going to intro
duce a bill breaking the leasehold
contracts adjusted under the land act
of 1881 Just as the Judicial rents were.
1t was not to vindicate the sanction of
contracts nor to repress the widespread
outbreak of crime that the Govern
ment now demanded coercion for
Ireland. OF whatever nature the
Government measure should turn
out to be, it was the duty OF the
Liberals now, whether in the minority
or in the majority, to refuse urgency.
He trusted that the people of England
would see the Liberals united in OPP
posing this i'll. omened measure, and that
the Liberal members would ring out
the voices OF Justice and Reason against
q government which, after eighty-six
years of experience, were preparing,
under the name OF statute of Parlia-
ment, to strike fresh blow at the life
and happiness of Ireland, and at the
prosperity, contentment, and unity of
the empire. CCheers.]